Tag Archives: God’s provision

June 29
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“Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.”  (Proverbs 10:2, NIV)

It is a sign of Christian maturity to be content with as little, or as much, as you’ve been given in this life.

Today’s lesson from Proverbs tells us that every person risks trouble when he or she is dissatisfied and begins to justify crooked schemes to acquire more.  This is particularly perilous for the disciple of Jesus, because if we don’t have it, we don’t need it.  (Really.  We don’t neeeeeeed it.)  God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

A right relationship with God ensures that we shall have all that we need; with the added blessing of knowing that we shall be delivered in, and through, situations that destroy the unscrupulous.  Take care to be honest and true in both your actions and in your ambitions.  – Luther

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June 3
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“’My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'”  (John 4:34, NIV)

As we’ve been told before: We need to be careful of what we eat.  Over time, what we consume eventually consumes us.

Jesus said that His “food” was: (1) To do the will of His Father and; (2) To finish His work.

What is it that energizes you?  What is it that were you to have to do without, you would die?  By definition, this is our “food.”

As followers of Jesus, we should have the exact same motivation that He did.  To require anything else assures spiritual malnutrition and the risk of being consumed by unworthy ambitions.

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these [other] things [we so eagerly seek, including literal food] will be added [provided] to us.” (Note: Bracketed words are my amplifications.)  – Luther

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April 28
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“‘Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine [Goliath] will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’  Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.'”  (1 Samuel 17:36-37, NIV)

Two days ago, we were encouraged to use our memory of God’s goodness to provoke us to be grateful.  Today’s scripture encourages us to use our memory of God’s faithfulness to provoke us to trust and faith in our heavenly Father — at all times, and in every circumstance.

David’s faith, confidence, and courage at the great, public moment of his confrontation with Goliath had as its foundation the lesser, private moments in his life when God had been equally faithful.  God’s power and faithfulness are no less present when we are facing a giant before an audience of thousands, than it is when we were confronting ordinary foes in the wilderness.

When facing the giant (whatever or whomever it might be), recall our heavenly Father’s faithfulness and power in the less public periods of your life.  It will give you the faith, the confidence, and the courage you need to overcome!  – Luther

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